


Displaced: Severing the Ties

by Vampykitty_kun



Series: Displaced 'verse [1]
Category: DCU Animated, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, F/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-21
Updated: 2013-02-25
Packaged: 2017-12-03 04:44:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/694306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampykitty_kun/pseuds/Vampykitty_kun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In attempt to rescue their captive teammates, Nightwing leads an unlikely makeshift team into the heart of the Reach’s hold, hoping, praying there is still something left to rescue. He knew the odds going in, they all did, but he never could have guess that it would go THAT wrong…</p><p>Now Dick is trapped, with no way home, and his friends at the mercy of the Reach.</p><p>Young Justice (TV) / Comic 'verse crossover</p><p>PART 1 (Young Justice 'verse)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Prompt request from featherxxdreams that I blew totally out of proportion *sigh*
> 
> This part one is strictly in the Young Justice 'verse with only the pairings/characters listed in this installment, and can be read alone if you are not interested in futureplot.
> 
> I REALLY got into it. The request was a Young Justice (TV) / Batman comic crossover, with the Bat-family more or less on good terms with one another, and a Dick/Damian pairing. Once I tried to put that together, it became a fic in itself to even get to the prompt! 
> 
> Multiple pre-established pairings, with YJDick/Damian in later parts. Comic 'verse is ignoring the reboot, and is skipping forward to 5 years later. YJ 'verse is in current time. Regardless, the Dick/Damian pairing is still underage, with Dick (18) and Damian (15). If that doesn't sit well with you, turn back now.
> 
> Rating my change on future installments, more tags will be added, and additional pairings will spring up as plot progresses. First few chapters are strictly Young Justice.

Admittedly, it had been an idiotic decision to put a half-assed team together in effort to retrieve his captured comrades. But it was the only thing that he could think of to help remedy the situation. He could NOT let them take control of the team, _his_ team, whom he should have been able to protect in the first place.

The group he had managed to pull together was a major clash of personalities, beliefs, and skills.

Wally was still sore with him (pissed was the more _proper_ term) but had jumped at the chance to get his mind off of Artemis and put himself to good use. Cheshire was unpredictable at the _best_ of times, although thankfully willing to do anything to stop Roy, whom she and Red had only just gotten back, from being at the mercy of the Reach. Red was ready to go even before she had agreed to participate. Steph was green, far too new to vigilantism, but she was admittedly too _good_ to pass up on while he was desperate, and all he had needed to tell her was that Tim- _Robin_ was in trouble. The two had made fast friends in their downtime. M’gann had only just barely managed to return in time to be briefed on the mission, with no time to allow her to rest, and Billy had jumped on the bandwagon the moment he had overheard his conversation with her.

With the abilities his makeshift team was packing, he had thought that they had stood a decent chance at recovery.

Decent… but even so, it was likely only in the 60-40 percentile, with a higher chance of casualty than he was truly comfortable with.

He had never once longed to have Bruce or Clark home so strongly, and unfortunately for all they knew, things on their end could have taken a turn for the worst. There was still a chance that they never would return. They were on their own in this, something the Reach had intended from the start, making it so their heavy hitters were long gone before they even made their move.

The flight in on the bio-ship was spent in silence, everyone’s nerves on edge, stomachs churning. None of his comrades were kidding themselves. They all knew the risks, the chances, the likeliness of things working out. Cheshire- _Jade_ , had left Lian with her mother for safe keeping. She and Roy sat together during the flight, never saying a word, simply holding hands as they stared mindlessly ahead at the world passing by. M’gann looked ill. He knew that she felt that this was her fault, that if she had only mustered up the nerve to truly read the Green Beetle’s mind none of this would have happened, but he wasn’t so sure of that. Even if she had, he was a Martian himself. There was the chance that he would have been able to hide things from her, even with her picking through his subconscious. Steph looked uncomfortable, on edge as she played with the hem on her cape, a bright shade of eggplant. It wasn’t the first time she had donned this costume of hers since her original capture (having been inspired by the team, Tim in particular, ever since) but definitely the first mission of importance, first mission at all really, and she seemed well aware that it could be her last as well. Billy wasn’t naïve, not at all, but he always had done a good job at playing as such. But in this situation, he did not even bother acting. His solemn expression looked so very out of place, and he looked every bit the age ‘Captain Marvel’ was.

And Nightwing?

He himself could only sit in silence, going back over the plan over and over again, silently praying that once they went on the attack that their comrades, their _friends_ , were still alive and in one piece. That there was still something to save.

As selfish as it sounded, he wasn’t sure he would be of much use if yet another Robin had been killed in action. He would not be able to handle Tim’s death.

That one would be on his hands.

And worst of all, he was rather sure Wally knew this, as he had sat next to him despite their current standing with one another with his side pressed up against him, offering the slightest bit of comfort.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, someway, the Reach had foreseen their arrival…

-x-x-x-x-x-x- **  
**

He never could have expected things to go as wrong as they did.

Somehow, someway, the Reach had foreseen their arrival.

They had barely just arrived in the target area before the attack came at all angles. They hadn’t even had time to exit the cloaked bioship before it had felt like a bomb had gone off on top of it, and M’gann had only just barely been able to land them without crashing into a deadly heap.

They had fled the confines of the ship, plan of action completely obliterated as they fought for cover. Seeing the sheer number of soldiers that the Reach truly had on their end put things in a new light. They had been foolish to come, they should have known better… and yet, meeting the gaze of his panicked team, he could tell that not a single one of them held an ounce of regret. None of them could have abandoned the captured.

But they were fighting a losing battle and they had not even entered the fray.

M’gann established a mind link so they could remain silent, and cloaked herself from view, all the while trying to instruct them where to move to stay out of view. Panic had set in, pulses were racing, and despite battling through the thick foliage they were in, the feeling of being watched could not be shaken.

“ _I’m so sorry… this has to be my fault… all my fault…_ ” M’gann choked out, flitting ahead of them.

Dick panted as he raced alongside Jade and Roy, Wally keeping a slow pace to his right so as to stay with them, Billy soaring ahead, and Steph lagging behind as her lungs protested with the strain of the distance of the rapid run, her body far from being as conditioned as their own.

“ _You can’t blame yourself. There’s no way you could have known that we were heading into an ambush. No way that you could have known their numbers. This is NOT your fault! Understand?_ ”

“ _No…_ ” She half sobbed. “ _The ship… they were tracking the ship. It’s the only way. B’arzz must have been able to sense it. I-I should have anticipated that. They had time to plan, not much, but it was enough. We have been doomed from the start. My fault…_ ”

“ _Stop blaming yourself, and figure out a way to fix the problem!_ ” Roy growled, interrupting the conversation.

“ _You couldn’t have known. It’s not like anyone’s used to having another Martian on Earth beside J’onn, and it’s not as though we’ve ever had to think about him tracking us. It was an easy, yet detrimental mistake to make. None of us blame you…_ ” Wally sighed, the dread and anticipation causing his thoughts to be pained. “ _Let’s just… recalculate, pronto_.”

“ _What’s plan B? There’s always a plan B._ ” Billy chirped, spinning to face the majority of the group.

Dick sighed.

“ _There wasn’t enough time to formulate a second course of action. Plan ‘B’ is quite literally us winging it and hoping for the best, and staying alive long enough to do so_.”

“ _I hate to be the negative one in this party, but someone has to be I suppose… with this turn of events, what’s saying that anyone is even still alive_?” Jade snorted, earning a grimace from the red head at her side.

“ _Going into this, we have to operate under the assumption that they would want them alive for their own purposes, such as before._ ” He replied.

“ _That’s fine and dandy for the ‘super’ types, but Robin? Arsenal_?” Steph pitched in breathily behind them, trying her best to keep up.

Before Dick could comment, a ship swooped in overhead, and they were forced to flatten themselves in the tall grass, holding their breath’s cautiously until the immediate danger passed.

Several minutes passed before Nightwing let out a ragged mental sigh.

“ _Robin and Arsenal are… questionable._ ” He admitted, squeezing his eyes shut as the Blonde let out a small whine.

“ _Wonderful_ …” Jade drawled with a scowl, pulling herself up back onto her feet.

The others did the same, and they inched forward, testing their surroundings before continuing towards the compound.

The group made it nearly another hundred and twenty feet, moving along slowly, before a ship flew past once again.

This time, they were not so lucky.

The ground shook and dirt flew as blasts hit the ground around them. They pulled in close to one another as they once again raced through the over growth evading the shots being fired at random. It was a small comfort that their exact positioning was unknown, but at any moment what little luck they had could easily run out.

“ _Now would be the time to have the faintest illusion of a plan ready to go Bro!_ ” Wally yelped, shoving the lot of them aside, just before a blast hit barely six feet from where they had been running, leaving a crater several feet wide and a dust cloud clogging the air around them.

Everyone gagged, trying to inhale and cough as little and quietly as possible, all the while moving ahead foot by foot.

“ _M’gann… you are going to have to go in ahead of us. You’re the only one who cannot be seen by normal means. At the very least Psimon is out of commission, courtesy of Artemis as you said earlier, but you will still have to be on high alert as far as B’arzz goes, and neither Black or Blue Beetle are to be forgotten either. If you are spotted by either of the three… you cannot hold back.”_

_“But-“_ M’gann’s eyes widened as she started, only for Nightwing to stop her in her tracks.

_“There is a time and a place for everything. I know you have been traumatized by your own errors, using your abilities as a first choice without thinking things through, but in this case it is a matter of life and death. At the very least, with your experience with Kaldur, you have the knowledge now that you CAN reverse the damage done. It does not have to be permanent. While I have no hope for the Black Beetle whatsoever, it IS possible that a brain blast from you could quite possibly release B’arzz from the Reach’s hold, and inevitably, you could reverse the damage done to Blue. You have your reservations, but in this case, more good can come from it on a larger scale, and could very well save our lives.”_

_“I-I can try…”_

_“And that’s all we can ask of you in that department, that you be willing to try.”_ Dick agreed, nodding to himself as they trucked along bunched together. _“Billy, you are currently our only heavy hitter. Whilst Roy, Jade, Wally, Steph, and I can handle the typical Reach minion, if M’gann is otherwise preoccupied and Blue or Black Beetle pursues us, only you can hold your own. Wally can get away just fine if need be, but the rest of us would be sitting ducks, as much as I hate to admit it. If either of them, especially Black Beetle, gets ahold of us… it’s game over. We are of no use to the Reach, and right now, each and every one of us is a top threat._

_“Gotcha, that I can do. Plow through minions until presented with a higher threat, then keep them off you guys. Roger!”_

_“Got any bright ideas for me?”_ Wally laughed half-heartedly, weaving between them _,_ keeping an eye on the sky and blasts from above. _“As the only true meta on this merry little team, I take it I can be put to good use?”_

Dick managed a weak smile.

_“Your job Walls, is to go at top speed and locate the others, all the while keeping yourself out of harm’s way. IF you find them, no matter in what state, you alert us to the location immediately. We will rendezvous with you as soon as possible, and in the meantime, it’s up to you to keep them and yourself safe. Do not take any unnecessary risks as we cannot afford to lose you.”_

_“Gotcha.”_

_“And a warning to all, there’s a strong possibility that Kaldur and Artemis are on base, considering they were forewarned to our arrival. If that is the case, we cannot risk exposing them until absolutely necessary. Likewise, we cannot afford to harm them either. Wally… I especially hate to remind you to restrain yourself, but do NOT blow her cover. You know what the potential consequences are.”_

_“Y-yeah… understood.”_ He drooped, drawing in a deep breath.

“ _Roy, Jade… watch each other’s backs. Do not be reckless. Long range attacks whenever able, as long as you have ammo. When it comes down to hand to hand, be careful. Steph_?”

“ _Yeah Bluebird_?”

“ _You’re with me. Stay close, don’t be a risk taker, and follow my lead. I’ve seen Robin teaching you a thing or two, and while I wouldn’t have encouraged him to keep you going with this lifestyle, I’m pretty glad he did right now_.”

“ _Oh my, was that the slightest bit of a compliment Nightwing_?” She chuckled, coming up beside him.

“ _How ‘bout I answer that later_?” He managed a small smirk.

“ _Heads up… we’re here…”_ M’gann murmured, pulling aside some branches, revealing a massive ship resting across a stretch of rubble coated field.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy had arrived just in time to rescue Nightwing from being choked to death as he thrashed in Blue’s grasp, pinned against the wall several feet up by the Beetle’s grip on his throat, with Steph unable to do much to help from her place back at ground level…

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

At first, things seemed as though luck was finally on their side.

M’gann shot out like a speeding bullet towards the ship, clearing the way for them as she threw the soldiers out of their path, knocking them off of their feet so they could not pursue them. Billy followed her lead, keeping a good forty feet of distance between the two of them as the rest of the team raced across the stretch of land. Wally stuck close, running slow loops around them as added protection, biding his time until the y all reached the ship’s compound. Steph stuck close to his right side, putting in an effort that very much reminded him of Robin, and he could never claim to not be proud of her, or Tim, for her having become as good as she had in such a short amount of time. To his left, Roy and Jade smashed through the oncoming offense like it were a paper wall. For being such an unlikely pair, Dick had to admit that they complimented each other nicely, balanced each other out even.

It was only when they reached the entrance that hell really broke loose…

Black Beetle came out of nowhere, and slammed the concealed Martian out of the air like a swatted fly, sending her barreling to the ground in an ungraceful heap with enough force to cause a crater around her. Billy was on him in an instant, but could do little more than stay on the defensive, keeping the massive Beetle preoccupied as Wally rushed in to retrieve her.

She was dazed, but uninjured for the most part, something he was thankful for, not even realizing he had been holding his breath until he had released it raggedly as they checked her over.

“ _I… I’ll be fine…_ ” She insisted, prying free of their arms, pressing forward against the wall of the ship.

“ _You’re sure_?” He asked, gently resting a hand on her shoulder.

“ _I am as fine as I am going to get Nightwing…_ ” She murmured. “ _Let’s just get everyone inside. I can’t be sure how long Billy can hold his own_.” And with that, she had drifted inside, fazing through the outer structure.

Time seemed to pass in slow motion as they waited for the hatch to release, giving them access to the inside. For the most part, the only threat was the Black Beetle, and Billy had him covered for the time being. Any stragglers they had missed on their entrance were easily taken down as they reached them with their combined efforts. Nightwing could only conclude that yes, while the Reach had had some forewarning to their arrival, they had not been able to recall al of their troops, otherwise things would be happening very differently.

When the hatch finally released and they filed inside, M’gann soared past them back out onto the battlefield to assist Billy, and as much as he’d have liked to stick around to ensure her safety, Dick had to press on.

“ _Now’s the time Wally… be safe_.” He murmured, clasping both hand’s on the speedster’s shoulders.

“Definitely not feeling the ‘aster Bro, but I’ll try my damnedest. “

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Chaos.

That was all this was.

They had met up with Blue Beetle fifteen minutes into their exploration, on top of the plethora of minions that had been trying to thwart them since their initial entrance. Without M’gann, Billy, or Wally at their sides, holding their own in the fight was next to impossible. They had scattered, broken off into two groups. There was no sign that ‘Jaime’ was still anywhere in the Blue Beetle’s mind. B’arzz had clearly sealed him away in the darkest depths of his consciousness.

Roy and Jade had made their escape, which left Dick and Steph under the watchful eye of Blue as they attempted to throw him while they sped through the halls, with no success.

“ _Nightwing, please hang in there!_ ” M’gann shouted through the link. “ _I’m sending Billy in to handle Blue, just please! Keep on your feet until then!”_

“ _Easier said than done Ms. M…_ ” Steph laughed nervously, rubbing her shoulder tenderly as they kept up their pace, having narrowly avoided a direct plasma blast just minutes earlier. “ _Never gonna look at bugs the same way again…_ ” she muttered.

“ _Are you sure that’s a wise decision M’gann_?”

“ _You need him more than I do right now, and… I’ll do what I have to, to stay alive. I promise you that_.”

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Billy had arrived just in time to rescue Nightwing from being choked to death as he thrashed in Blue’s grasp, pinned against the wall several feet up by the Beetle’s grip on his throat, with Steph unable to do much to help from her place back at ground level.

Dick hit the ground in a breathless heap, Steph at his side immediately, pulling him away from the grappling mess that had become the two powerhouses.

“ _On your feet Bluebird! Come on, move_!” She pled, wrenching him upright as he gasped and panted.

“ _Are you-_ ungh! _Alright, Nightwing_?” M’gann rang out, thoughts momentarily interrupted by a blocked attack on her end he assumed.

“ _I… more or less. I owe you M’gann_ …”

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He and Steph had fled the scene, and were long away from the danger Blue presented when it happened.

“ _YES! Finally!”_

The pair froze, and small chuckle bubbled up from Dick’s throat.

“ _KF, report!_ ”

“ _Wally_?” M’gann rang out, echoed by Billy thereafter.

After a long agonizing silence, Roy, who hadn’t said a word since they had split the remainder of the group in half, let out a low growl.

“ _West!?”_ He snapped.

“ _SORRY! Sorry… I’ve found them. I had to be sure first; I didn’t want to give false info at a time like this. But, they’re alright, for the most part. They’re unconscious, but overall they seem intact and well. They’ve been collared and cuffed, and I can’t get either off. Took a hell of a shock when I tried. Took forever to get here, the security they had on this bunker was no joke._ ”

“ _Everyone is accounted for?”_ Dick pressed.

Another long silence followed.

“ _Wally!_ ”

“ _I… no, no they aren’t_.” He murmured, suddenly sounding defeated.

Dick sucked in a deep breath, and released it hesitantly.

“ _Who is currently MIA, KF? Report!_ ”

 _“…Impulse. Bart isn’t in here… and I’ve covered a lot of ground, haven’t seen a single sign of him. You don’t think they_ -“

“ _We can’t jump to any conclusions right now. Stay there, keep them safe, and hold your ground. M’gann- finish things NOW. You need to get to Wally and get everyone coherent and back on their feet if we ever hope to make it out of here alive!_ ”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had failed…

As Steph had said, things were easier said than done…

As she and Dick sped through the metallic halls making their way towards Wally’s location, feedback from M’gann’s end became nonexistent, even when she was addressed personally. The only thing keeping Dick’s panic at bay was the knowledge that she was alive and conscious so long as the mind link stayed up and running. Billy was toe to toe with Blue, holding his own, yet again was able to do little more than keep up the defensive and distract the Beetle from making his way in their direction.

Roy and Jade were faring better, but were not without scuffles on their end, and Dick was not surprised at all when Roy announced that he was out of ammo and now winging it as he went.

He was impressed with Steph’s form as she darted out, slamming her elbows into throats and ribs as she danced through a wave of soldiers at his side. Even with the blank mask covering her face, he knew she was grinning, enthralled that the others, for the most part, were fine and that with any luck they would be seeing them shortly.

It felt like a small victory when the odd couple announced that they had met up with the speedster, and Wally excitedly said his thanks as Red fussed over Arsenal’s unconscious form. He would have given anything to be at their side already, doing the same with Tim, but it seemed that every obstacle possible was hell-bent on getting in their way.

Dick’s lungs were burning, and he knew Steph was long past her breaking point, the girl gasping more than breathing, her sprints slowed down to a shaky jog. With M’gann still non-responsive, things were likely to get hectic, and painful shortly if she did not get Conner and Cassie on their feet soon to give them some hitting power. The three guarding their unconscious friends were sitting ducks, and Wally’s meta speed could only go so far…

Things had seemed to happen in slow motion.

On moment, Dick was running, with Steph a few short feet behind him, and in the next Steph was out in front of him, spinning around to face him with a look of horror, hood down, as he realized his moving feet were no longer touching the ground and he was suspended in midair running in place.

His moment of dread was short lived as he collided with the steel-like wall with a sickening crack, Steph’s verbal scream echoing through the halls, and the rest of the team’s frantic calls echoing through his skull. He fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, twisting his aching body in effort to survey the hallway, only to be wrenched back up off the ground by his hair.

A pained gasp broke free from his bleeding lips, and his eyes widened behind his cracked domino as he hung face to face with the smirking form of the Green Beetle.

“Seems we have a bit of a pest problem, don’t you think?” He hissed, lips curling back over his teeth.

Dick could only slump in the Martian insect’s grasp as he squeezed his eyes shut.

With M’gann unable to be reached, still preoccupied with the Black Beetle, there was no hope of getting out of the situation he had been forced into.

“ _R-Run… get to the others. Don’t let him take you. Hold off until M’gann can get to you. Get the team- the **entire** team to safety… that takes priority. I’ll… figure something out, always do_.”

The blonde’s eyes bulged as she rocked back on her heels.

“ _You’ve got to be kidding me! If you think I’m just going to leave you-_ “

“ _That-that’s an ORDER Stephanie! Now MOVE!_ ” He barked, simultaneously twisting in the Martian’s hold to slam a kick square in the being’s jaw.

The sudden attack barely caused him to tilt sideways, but it had been the perfect distraction to give Spoiler enough time to slip away.

“ _You better keep yourself alive Nightwing… Robin wouldn’t forgive me if I left you to die…_ ” She murmured.

Dick could only be grateful that she had listened.

He never did get to respond.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Nightwing’s mind link had ceased to exist the moment she had turned the corner at the end of the first hall, and Steph couldn’t fend off the tightness in her throat that occurred as a result, further hindering her ragged breathing.

She prayed that he was simply unconscious rather than the alternative… as that was something she wouldn’t be able to live with, let alone be able to face Tim afterwards.

She plowed through any attacks coming at her with ease, the anger she had for the Beetle, and for herself fueling her hits with new vigor, knowing that she HAD to make it to the others otherwise whatever happened to the bird now would be for nothing. They were in an uproar within her head, highly distressed with Nightwing’s disappearance, and she wished she could just tune it out and concentrate on running.

“ _Regardless of what happened, he’s clearly out of the picture, who’s calling the shots now_?” Jade huffed.

“ _Admittedly… that’s definitely not something we ever discussed. We never exactly expected him to- well, go down… Bat training and all, ya’ know_?” Wally gave a shaky, lifeless, laugh.

“ _Perfect…_ ” Roy groaned.

“ _How far am I from you guys now? I’m not sure how much more I can take without some kind of break…_ ” Steph groaned, rounding yet another corner.

“ _Not much further, according to your tracer, just keep moving, no stopping to catch your breath. Once M’gann gets back in the game, we can_ -“

“I-I’m here…” M’gann’s voice broke through in a quiet murmur, interrupting Roy and effectively silencing everyone on the link.

“ _Man is it good to hear your voice Babe_!” Wally cheered, relief pouring through his mind.

“ _The Beetle_?” Roy pressed hesitantly, yet firmly.

“ _He… will no longer be a problem_ …”

“ _You did what you had to Miss M. Don’t let it get to you. Right now it’s them or us, and if we don’t make it, the entire planet’s screwed_.” Steph insisted, slamming a fist into a minion’s gut as she twirled out of the way of another.

“ _This…this is true_.” She agreed hesitantly. “ _Billy? Are things alright on your end?_ ” She prompted, coasting through the walls at top speed.

Only, there was no answer…

“ _Batson, this is no time to screw around, answer us dammit!_ ” Roy snarled, a sinking feeling rising up in all of them, praying for the slightest acknowledgment.

Which never came.

“ _M’gann, we need you here right NOW, no messing around, there’s no telling how long he’s been out or how long we have left before- SHIT_!”

“ _NO_!” M’gann cried out, pushing her speed to her limits, knowing all too well that things were already underway, and there would be consequences to them letting their guard down in light of Nightwing’s capture, if even just for a few short minutes.

Steph stumbled as various shouts erupted, unsure of whether or not she should continue or fall back waiting for instruction. She pressed herself flesh against the wall within a dark corner, panting heavily, heart racing as she listened to what little mental chaos that made its way through the link.

She didn’t need to be an experienced member of the team to know that this wasn’t going to end well. She had seen what the Beetles were capable of, how the Black Beetle had once easily handed everyone their asses, fully tenderized. Red Arrow and Cheshire were only human, no meta abilities, no alien blood, and Kid Flash’s speed could only go so far, do so much.

“ _Spoiler… Stephanie_?” M’gann murmured as silence washed over them.

“ _Y-yes_?”

“ _If at all possible… wait for things to die down, and make it back to the ship. Turn back. Tell the League that everyone is down. I am unsure of how long I can contain things on my own. Once I move in on Blue Beetle, I’m vulnerable, and it is far too likely that B’arzz is waiting for just that. They will not be so concerned about you. They’re not anticipating that you can do any damage. They won’t be pointedly searching for you. Get to the ship, make the call, and then attempt to fly back to the tower. With any luck, they won’t pursue you. They may even want you to alert the League, lure them in, what’s left of them anyway. Use that to your advantage… and good luck_.”

And all too soon, Steph was alone in her mind.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

They all awoke simultaneously, slow, and stiff as they forced their eyes to open. They became aware all too quickly that they were shackled securely to the wall, thick limiter collars fastened tight against their throats.

The anguish hit Dick like a freight train as he realized that the entire team had fallen, the only two missing from the line up being the MIA Bart, and now Stephanie.

They had failed…

Both Blue and Green Beetle stood before them, smirks spread across their faces, making a point to aim them at him. He wanted so bad to put his fist through their faces… make them suffer for what they had done, and still aimed to do, but it was no use, he knew that now.

Bruce would be so disappointed in him… but not nearly as much as he was of himself.

The Ambassador stepped into the light, making his way toward the Beetles, looking pleased with the turn out. Dick’s stomach lurched as he approached, and Conner let loose a primal growl as the man’s face spread into a wide grin, straining against his restraints with no results.

“Time after time you children insist upon poking your heads in where they do not belong. It may perhaps seem extreme, keeping you bound and helpless as such, but this seems to be the only way to make you see _sense_ …” He drawled, tsking as he watched Conner’s efforts with disdain.

“Our capture means nothing. The League will find the holes in your defenses. This plan of yours, whatever it may be in its entirety, will never come to a close.” Dick spat.

The Ambassador let loose a heavy sigh and approached Nightwing, arms folded across his chest as he looked him over with little interested.

“Nightwing, correct? Ah yes… Blue Beetle has told me much about you, and your little _plans_ …”

Dick’s stomached heaved and the panic spilled over him in one crashing wave.

They _knew_ …

Artemis and Kaldur had been outed, and neither were present at the current, making him fear the worst for them.

“Oh? Do not look so frightened… we have made no drastic moves as of yet, rest assured little _Bird_ …” He chuckled, tilting his head at him. “No… as of now, they have not yet posed a problem, prompting action on our part. One must assume that they are awaiting your orders, no? Pity that they will never come… You would be surprise how quickly one adapts to a given situation in order to stay alive. I believe that both will become valuable assets if given the time and chance once you are out of the picture.”

A small squeak broke free from Tim’s lips at that, and the man could only laugh.

“I wonder how many of your trusted comrades will follow suit, hmm? Family is family after all, and so many are tied in with one another.”

“You think killing me will solve your problems? You honestly think I hold that much power over this team? Each and every one of them is their own person, free to make their own choices. I do not _control_ them against their will like some people.”

“I never once spoke of killing you dear Bird… no, I’ve come to realize that death is hardly everlasting, easily reversible. No, what I have planned for you is far more permanent. Even more enjoyable is that you will have to go on living knowing that you failed, that your team is at my disposal, and you will never know the outcome of this war or the fate of your friends. That everything that happens to them from here on out is on _your_ hands.” He sneered, stepping back.

“I-I don’t understand?”

“Oh, you will, with time Nightwing, I assure you.” He huffed, turning toward Blue. “Prep the machine… see to it that it reaches maximum power. B’arzz, retrieve the Nightwing.”

Blue flew to the back of the chamber, landing within the shadows stretching across much of the enclosure. B’arzz stepped forward without hesitation, and with a flick of his wrist released the metal cuffs from Nightwing’s body, causing his form to go crashing to the ground. Before Dick could even think of pulling himself to his feet, a clawed hand was in his hair, yet again dragging him about. He thrashed in the Martian Beetle’s grip, twisting and turning his beaten body in effort to squirm loose with no success. A machine whirred to life behind him, and he twisted just enough to gaze in its direction, only for eyes to widen. Blue was prepping a zeta tube, or at the very least something that resembled one. But that was not what he found alarming, not at all… what had his heart thrumming in his chest and hysteria clawing at the forefront of his mind was the presence of the machine attached to the port.

_Bart’s_ machine.

“I thought you would recognize this brilliant piece of technology.” The Ambassador quipped, hovering just out of reach. “But you will soon see the equally impressive _adjustments_ I have made, even though you may not appreciate them. I assure you, this is a one way trip, best to adapt and adjust accordingly. There is no return on your horizon.”

The last thing Dick heard as B’arzz whipped him through the air into the zeta port was Tim’s screams of protest…

And then there was nothing.


End file.
